VYPR
by Panzer4life
Summary: Vera Noir, armed with her weapon and her wrath, is given a chance to learn from Beacon. But with the lines being drawn in VAle, will Vera chose her family or Beacon, her past or her future? Rated M for violence, mature material, language, and blood/gore. Pairings undecided.
1. Chapter 1: Night on the Town

**A/N: Alright, this is my first RWBY fan-fic, and thus I must give the obligatory disclaimer; I don't own RWBY or any of its characters. I only own my OCs. Rooster Teeth owns RWBY. Also, this story is rated M for graphic violence and future 'mature' scenes, you have been warned. Anyway, let's get to the story!**

Chapter 1: A Night on the Town.

* * *

The sound of the bass drummed through the door, where the bouncer was standing guard. He was a buff middle age man where red shades and a black uniform. He sighed, remembering the royal ass chewing he got from his boss when he let in that blonde she-devil into the club. He watched over the line, occasionally letting in a few people and some VIPs, when he saw someone was causing the line to split away, and soon he saw the person in question.

The person in question was a tall young woman, eighteen or nineteen at his guess, wearing a black jacket, urban combat camo pants, and on her hands were steel and leather gloves. Her skin was as pale as the moon, but her pitch black hair and fiery red eyes contrasted with her skin. The only other things of distinction was the red tattoo pattern around her left eye, a tall back box on her back, and her gloves seemed to have been made for someone with claws.

"Ma'am, who might you be?" the bouncer asked cautiously. He really didn't need another screw up. The woman chuckled quietly.

"Well, tell you boss Vera Noir is here to see him," the woman, apparently named Vera, said, her voice sounding slightly manic. The bouncer pushed on his earpiece.

"Boss, there is a woman claiming to see you by the name of Vera Noir, shall I send her in?" the bouncer asked. He heard his boss set down a glass quickly.

"If you value your manhood, you will let Vera through!" Junior said. "She won't hesistate to-" The bouncer chose to ignore the rest of it, and turned to Vera.

"Alright, get in," the bouncer said. "The boss is at the bar. Word of warning, he is on edge, a few months back were had a blonde bombshell go off."

"I see," Vera said. "Sounds like I got another job lined up then." She smiled creepily, sending shivers down the poor bouncer's spine.

Vera walked past the bouncer and opened the door to the club, and smiled at the sight. People were on the dance floor, dancing to the tune of the techno that was playing, the DJ bobbing his head in the bear mascot head. She gazed, and saw that Junior was at the bar. She skirted around the crowd and made her way to the bar.

"Hey Junior, what's this about a blonde bombshell going off?" Vera asked, her eyes gleaming in a excited madness. Junior turned around and stared at Vera for a moment, before laughing.

"Haha, it's good to see you Vera!" Junior said, enveloping Vera in a hug, which she reciprocated. "Ah, so I take it from you being here the job North has been taken care of?" Vera ignored the fact he dodge her question and answered his.

"Exceedingly well, the poor dumbass that thought he could steal from Uncle Roman had hired some excellent mercenaries to protect him. They all fell to _Fenrir _like the scum they were. The dumbass ended up on his knees in front of Uncle Roman and paid triple to get out alive. So overall, it went well."

Junior chuckled while he polished another glass. Vera always had a thing for violence, but he assumed that came with growing up hated for being a Faunas and being raised by Junior until she was fourteen, when she became inducted by Roman's organization for her combat skills. That and she didn't have many friends other than fighting companions.

"So, what brings you back here; looking for some work?" Junior asked. Vera nodded.

"Yeah, you could say that. On my way back, I had my car wrecked as a result of poor road conditions and some rather large boulders," Vera said. "So what work do you know of?"

"Well, Roman is having a hell of a time with his latest expenditure," junior said, noting his friend's recent escapades. "Then there are the usual jobs for taking out informants that the White Fang would want gone, and then finally you have the courier jobs, which pay like shit but are bountiful."

"Ahh, Junior, don't you have anything that isn't a waste of my time or money?" Vera said, her eyes losing the excited look. She sat down and quickly ordered a Texas highball. Junior rubbed his chin, thinking of some other possiblites. He sighed after he came up with nothing.

"Not really," Junior said. "The jobs around here aren't numerous, not with the upcoming festival coming up. Mainly because every wannabe Hunter and Huntress will be in town, and no one wants to risk getting plastered by them."

"Ah, the sucks," Vera said, quietly sipping on her highball. "So, mind telling me about the blonde bombshell or what?"

"Fuck, was hoping I got you sidetracked," Junior said. "Fine, here's the deal; about a month ago, some uppity blonde walks in, looking for some girl. She asks me for information, and after her crushing my balls and not getting an answer, she asks for a kiss. But instead of kissing, she ends up punching me."

"Then she goes to make a mockery of my men, punching, kicking, and shooting them with her fucking shotgun gauntlets. She then beats Militia and Melanie in close quarters combats. I finally get up, and she then manages to break _Hangover _like it was nothing and punch me out of the bar."

"What the fuck, why wasn't I told of this sooner?" Vera said. "I so could've taught that bitch her place, making her pay up in more ways than one for humiliating you!"

Junior shook his head; sometimes Vera was a bit too eager to get into a fight. He looked at her, thinking of how excited she was when she beat the first person to a pulp with _Fenrir. _

"Listen, I didn't get her name, and I don't know where she went. All I know is that both Militia and Melanie are still healing up after the pounding blondie gave them, and the only reason I am working is because my pounding was over much faster and wasn't as brutal. Anyway-"

Junior was cut off by a loud bang at the door. He stood up to see who was causing the commotion, and cursed under his breath at the blasted ass sight of the douche bag four, or as they called themselves Team CRDL.

"Fuck, not these ass holes," Junior said. Vera looked at them, and wasn't impressed. The only one of the group, the obvious leader, only looked semi-competent in a fight, and he must've been pathetic to be hitting on woman using his underlings to corner them off.

"So Junior, why haven't the douchebags been kicked out of the club?" Vera asked, a crazed look adopting her face. Junior felt a moment of pity for the poor souls, before it was replaced with a viable opportunity to kick the idiots out of his club.

"Well, because partly because what they do isn't illegal," Junior began. "But also every time one of the club employees asked if there is a problem, the young women clam up. So while I am certain you go off and have a chat, I will make sure the employees turn a blind eye to them. Also, the back door is open."

Vera nodded curtly, smiling at the mention of the back door. She knew Junior had to cover his bases; just because he was of questionable reputation didn't mean he was stupid. He was making sure nothing she did would tie back to him. And she would make sure it didn't.

She walked up to the group, who were currently harassing a couple of young women, probably in here with illegal IDs. She smiled as she tapped the leader on the shoulder.

"So, what's your name handsome?" Vera asked, pulling out her charm. The boy, for the lack of a better term, looked at her, judging her.

"Hey there sweetie, my names Cardin," Cardin said, a shit eating smirk adoring his face. "So, like what you see?" he flexed his arms, trying to impress Vera. Vera resisted the urge to laugh in his face.

"Sure do," Vera lied. Cardin's ego was boosted to nearly insurmountable levels.

"Hey, how about we bounced from this club and find somewhere more private?" Cardin said, nodding to his underlings to move. Vera felt excitement growing inside her; how wonderful it will be to rip a new asshole into this punk!

"Sounds good to me," Vera said. "How about we take the back exit; less people there to see us." _Less people to see me kick you and your buddies asses. _

"Whatever, it's all good to me," Cardin said. Vera led Cardin and his goons to the back door, winking at Junior. He smiled at the knowledge he wouldn't be bothered by Cardin and his men any time soon.

Vera opened the door and let Cardin and his men into the dark back alley that was behind the club. Usually, it was used for taking care of packages for the club, but occasionally it was used for 'testing' the skills of new bouncers. Cardin and his men walked past her, not knowing something was wrong until they heard the door click, followed by a whoosh of air.

Vera landed in front of Cardin and his goon, smiling like a maniac. She put a hand on her hip, and brushed her hair.

"So Cardin, I heard from Junior you have been an ass to the paying clients to the club, is that true?" Vera asked. Cardin pulled out his mace, thinking it would intimidate the young woman.

"So what if it is?" Cardin asked. "What the hell are you going to do about it? We have you outnumbered, and unlike you, we are hunters in training. So give up pretty face and entertain us for the night, maybe you will enjoy it."

"Oh, I am going to enjoy the night," Vera said. "But I sure as shit going to make sure you are short a few pints, of your FUCKING BLOOD!"

Vera then grabbed her black box, and pressed a button to deploy _Fenrir. _Deploying into a long five foot pole, it was tipped with a dagger foot and a half spike. Along the top of the pole were a foot long axe head and a hook on the other side of the pole. It was a demonic halberd.

Vera leveled _Fenrir _to her hip, and quickly charged at Cardin's squad. The first goon jumped in her path, thinking his armor and his sword would do something against her. Vera laughed manically at she parried his sword and knocked it out of his hand. He tried to get a grip on her weapon, only for her to activate _Fenrir's _dust.

Engulfing the pole in flames, the poor goon's hand was caught ablaze, and he collapsed onto the ground, screaming over the severe burns. Vera knocked him out of the way, focusing on the second goon.

He gripped his sword in both hands, and when Vera lunged, he wisely chose to sidestep. However, Vera knew he would do this, and rotated the halberd so the axe head was perpendicular to the goon's body. She swung with enough force to throw him into the wall, knocking his blade out of his hand.

"Fucking bitch, you're going to pay for your insolence!" Cardin yelled, pushing his teammate aside as he lunged at Vera, his mace high in the air. Vera smiled.

"A problem with flanged maces that are hollow is that they are incredibly easy to disarm!" Vera yelled, and she thrust Fenrir into the hollow space between the flanges that made up the mace head. Twisting the pole to get the hook to stick, Vera yanked back on the pole, ripping the mace out of Cardin's hand.

"So, Cardin, what are you going to do now?" Vera taunted, twirling Fenrir as though he had no weight. "Shall I cut off your hands, so that you may never raise a fist to anyone every gain? Maybe stab away your manhood, so you can't give to the next generation? Or perhaps you would like me to gouge out your eyeballs?"

Cardin's eyes were wide at the madness that consumed Vera. He only saw such madness in Grimm, but she couldn't possibly be a Grimm, right?

"You crazy ass bitch!" Cardin said. "You do any of those things, your ass will land in prison!"

Vera smiled, only to have her senses go off. Trusting her instinct, she twirls on the spot, swinging _Fenrir_ as she spotted the three goons were now behind her, with their weapons back in their hands.

"Oh, did you think that _Fenrir_ here is just a halberd?" Vera asked, causing the three goons to pale. "Guess again!"

Pressing another button, two arms swung out from the tip of the pole, and several wires laced through the tips of the arms. In the blink of an eye, Vera smacked a box of bolts into the side of _Fenrir_, and she took aim at the goons with the hybrid crossbow.

Pressing on the trigger, the bolt was loosed, smashing into the armor of the first goon while throwing Vera and Fenrir back into Cardin, smashing in his chest. Vera laughed as he was now pinned between _Fenrir_ and the door, so she let loose several more bolts, laughing as the bolts smashed the armor of the goons. She heard with every bolt Cardin's ribs get smashed as the recoil pummeled away at his chest.

After letting loose twenty one bolts, she collapsed _Fenrir_ into its portable form. She nonchalantly picked Cardin up by his shirt collar.

"So Cardin, are you ever going to return to this club and give Junior any issues?" Vera asked. Cardin quickly shook his head, unable to breathe due to the pummeling his ribs took.

"And are you going to call the police on me?" Vera asked, her eyes burning themselves on Cardin's soul. He rapidly shakes his head no, amusing Vera. She drops him on the ground, and quickly punts him in the chest.

"Very well, I think you learned your lesson, run along now with your punk ass friends," Vera said. "Though if I ever see you around here again, I will make sure the Beowolves have some meat for dinner!"

Cardin and the rest of CRDL took off, albeit very slowly as none of them had any air in their lungs after the beating Vera gave them. Vera laughed at their attempts to flee. She decided to head back into the club, to finish her Texas highball and to rest. She more than earned it after dealing with those assholes.

* * *

"Argh! I can't stand this constant boredom!" Vera yelled, tearing at her hair in frustration. "Militia, Melanie, how the hell do you stand being in the club all day, everyday?"

Militia stared at Vera with a raised eyebrow. Her and Melanie had grew up with Vera since she was brought in at the tender age of six. The young girl had been a ball of uncontrollable violent energy, always looking for a fight or an argument to get into. But being with Junior, Melanie, and Militia, Vera had calmed down, to containing her wrath against those who deserved it. What it didn't solve was the woman's inability to deal with monotony.

"Vera, it comes with working at a co-owner of the club," Militia stated calmly. "It may not be as exciting as going after dangerous people who screwed over Roman or Junior, but it pays well, and it has the benefit of not ending up in the morgue."

"And then what about the blonde harlot?" Vera asked. "I heard she did a number on you guys."

"She did," Melanie said, while drinking a glass of ice cool water. "However, being bruised and dealing with injured pride isn't the same as being six feet under." Vera huffed in annoyance; annoyed at the fact Melanie was right.

"Well then, I just hope Junior will get me a job soon," Vera said. "If I remain in this club for another week, I am going to break someone."

The Malachite twins shared a looked; concerned that Vera would crash and burn young, leaving behind nothing in the world. Militia was about to put a hand on Vera, to suggest a different course of action, when Junior came in,

"Vera, got a minute?" Junior asked. Vera nodded, leaving the twins to sigh in defeat. Vera followed Junior to his office. She took a seat opposite of him, and saw that there was a man standing alongside one of the walls. He wore a dark green suit, black pants, with thin wire frame glasses. His hair was tussled and gray, giving him an age looked.

"Vera, this is Professor Ozpin," Junior said. Vera saw Ozpin walk to behind Junior and stared at her for a moment before speaking.

"Well, Ms. Noir, I can certainly say that your fighting skills are most impressive," Ozpin said. He took a drink of his coffee before he continued. "That said, might I inquire as to where you learned to fight like that?"

Vera, who was wondering what this was all about, glared at Junior and ignored Ozpin.

"Junior, why is he here?" Junior was about to speak but was cut off by Ozpin.

"The reason I am here is that you lured and proceeded to beat four of my students about a week ago. Naturally, I came here to see if you were a threat or not to my students. Also, according to your guardian here, he tells me that you never had a formal education and thus are unable to get any legitimate job or scholarship."

Vera's eyes narrowed as she glared at Junior, who began to rub the back of his head nervously. She turned her attention to Ozpin, wanting to know how much he knew.

"So, who would be the four students of yours?" Vera asked. Ozpin pulled out his scroll tablet and handed it to Vera. She saw that he had a video of her beating through Cardin's goons in the first person, roughly at chest level. She was confused as to who was taking the video until she saw that the mace was held in the first person, not seen like by someone standing behind the wielder.

"You've got to be kidding me," Vera groaned. "What idiot would video tape themselves being douchebags, and then of them getting their asses kicked?" Junior smirked while Ozpin remained neutral.

"Probably because it would allow them to get black mail material on their victims," Ozpin said. "At this moment, Mr. Winchester and his team are currently back at Beacon on latrine duty for the duration of the rest of term, which just started by the way."

"However, that doesn't explain how you learned to fight like that, or where you acquired such a weapon. Most people favor either single piece weapons or weapons that switch to dust firearms, not dust infused crossbows. And another thing, most people prefer one handed weapons, and halberds are some of the rarest weapons to be seen. So tell me, how did you learn to fight."

Vera sighed, as her answer would never be satisfactory. She didn't learn as a result of meticulous training or being taken under by a master. Rather she learned by combat; fighting and improving under the stresses of battle, with the goal of ending the fight as ruthlessly and quickly as possible.

"If you are wondering who trained me, the answer is no one," Vera said. "I learned while I was fighting. I chose the halberd/crossbow as it offered a plethora of options, something I highly value. Now, do you have a problem with what I did to your students, because if not I am going to about my business."

"To your business, do you mean working in this club as a temp, getting bored out of your mind?" Ozpin said. Vera glared at Junior, who raised his hands in defeat. "Trust me, your guardian filled me in on the kind of person you are, and I have seen that you would rather be fighting than sitting around twiddling your thumbs, waiting for the fight to come to you."

"So how about we make a deal? Next week, during the Vytal Festival, there will be a challenge session for fighters that wish to join Beacon to face off against one of Beacon's own students. If you win, I will grant you a scholarship into Beacon, regardless of your lack of formal education."

"And if I lose, or don't choose to compete?" Vera asked, everything in her body screaming that this was a trap. Ozpin took another drink from his mug before answering.

"Nothing; you go about your life as you had, with little room for advancement save for possibly criminal enterprise. But I assure you, such a life would be dreary and you more than likely would end up working for someone who sees you as a pawn," Ozpin sighed, standing up straight and heading towards the door. "However, the choice is yours, so you have a week to ponder what you will do."

The professor left, leaving Vera and junior in the office. Vera was unnaturally quiet and calm, trying to sort her thoughts out. Junior took a breath; he would need to explain why he allowed Ozpin to see her.

"Vera, listen," Junior began. "Right now as it sits you are taking incredibly dangerous jobs that the pay doesn't compensate for things that come up. You also hate taking jobs that don't allow you to fight, that force you to put on a fake smile and kiss ass. Going to Beacon would, a, get you the education you need if you ever decide on something other than fighting, and b, would allow you to take your aggression out on something other than the scum that my patrons are."

Vera finally finished sifting her thought, and her paranoid mind came out.

"Junior, why exactly are you keen on getting me into Beacon?" Vera asked. "What possible reason could you have for me going to Beacon? Is it to spy for you, to take someone out, what reason could you have for me going there?"

Junior leaned back in his chair, sighing. This wasn't going to be easy convincing Vera this is for her own good. But he knew that she would never bite, so to speak, without a viable reason, so he used something a good criminal should always have; a silver tongue.

"Vera, who knows what they teach at Beacon," Junior said. "They could have access to some of the most potent weapons, expert level training, maybe they have information about…" Junior cut himself off, realizing that what he was about to say was quite possibly the worst thing to suggest. Then Vera would probably be facing the death sentence if she came up empty.

Vera stared at Junior, knowing what he was about to say. She was sad to see that her 'father' didn't have enough faith in talking to her about her past. It wasn't her fault that she ended up slaughtering an entire sec of the White Fang when they mislead her with information she already had.

"Look, Junior, I will think about it," Vera said, trying to wrap the conversation up. "No guarantees I will go, but if they have anyone worth fighting at the challenge session, I will fight, and let the fight decide, deal?"

Junior felt his body relax; he was glad she was at least considering the offer Professor Ozpin gave her.

"Deal," he said. "However, you aren't going to sit around here doing nothing for a week. I expect you to be working the bar until then."

"Ugh, why must you punish me so vilely?" Vera whined, but getting up and heading to the door. Junior smirked and took out a glass and a private bottle of whiskey he had. After pouring himself a glass, he decided to give a close friend a call; he and his 'associates' would probably want to know they would have a good mole in Beacon.

* * *

As the week before Ozpin's offer came up, Vera had to deal with drunks that tried to hit on her and the other employees, a back stabbing thief who tried to rip Junior off by rewriting the business ledger and at least three different brawls that took place outside the club. Needless to say, Vera was irritated.

"God damn it, tomorrow can't come soon enough," Vera said, wringing her hands to avoid wringing a patron to the club. Melanie and Militia sighed; Vera was being dramatic again.

"Listen Vera, "Militia started. "I understand you prefer using _Fenrir_ over working the bar, but seriously, what are you going to do with your life if there isn't a war to fight, someone to take down, or if there isn't anyone to take on your skills?"

"Bah! There will always be some fight needing fighting," Vera said, dismissing the possibility of anything other than a good fight. "Man will always kill, discriminate, torture, and bring misery to themselves, so to expect peace is a fool's errand."

"True, but that doesn't mean your life should revolve around fighting and killing," Melanie countered. "Besides, wouldn't you rather want options in case you don't or can't fight?" Vera growled, knowing she was losing the argument. Why couldn't people understand that some people could only fight; that there wasn't any other path for them to take?

Vera glanced at her watch and was thankful it was now five minutes past her 'shift'. She put aside her towel and hopped over the counter.

"Melanie, look, the only thing I know is violence," Vera said, while motioning for one of the other barkeeps to get her a Moscow Mule. "Therefore, my only path is one drench in blood."

Before Melanie or Militia could continue to argue, a woman sat next to Vera.

"Amen to that," the woman said. Vera turned to face the young woman, and saw that she was a tall redhead wearing a duster jacket and leather gloves. Her face was worn and had a number of scars. Vera could tell the woman was a fighter.

"Name's Rachelle Buntline," the woman introduced herself. "And believe me, I know the feeling. Been fighting ever since I was ten, damn corporations and their underhanded tactics. I lost a lot of good friends to the various corporations."

"Well, I might as well have been born into violence," Vera said, choosing her words carefully. "My mother fled from my father when I was young, and I grew up in his shadows until I was found by Junior."

"Did you get your vengeance?" Rachelle asked, her hand with a glass of whiskey. Vera nodded.

"Last thing I remember of him was the carnage my father left in the wake of his wrath," Vera said, her anger growing as she recalled the memory; the blood, the screams, the fire, it was intoxicating in its vileness. She repressed the memories to not snap and she took a drink.

"So Rachelle, what brings you to Vale?" Vera asked. By this time the Malachite twins went off somewhere else in the club. Rachelle chuckled.

"Well, I heard that Beacon is offering entry to those who can beat one of their hunters tomorrow," Rachelle said. "So I am going to see about getting into Beacon that way, hopefully tone my skills to better myself in extracting justice against the corporations."

"Heh, interesting because I was offered a chance to join Beacon should I partake in the challenge," Vera said. "Maybe I can see you fight." Rachelle nodded.

"Same here," Rachelle said. The two continue to drink and chat, about minor things like jobs they did in the past, when Vera looked at the time. It was nearly midnight, and if she was going to have a chance at winning the fight tomorrow, she would need her rest.

"Hey Rachelle, I am going to call it a night, it was a pleasure sharing drinks with you," Vera said. Rachelle nodded.

"Alright then, I will see you at the fights tomorrow," Rachelle said. "Maybe we can place a friendly wager on who wins their fight first? I betting on myself for a total of ninety lien." Vera chuckled, and shook on the bet.

"I bet that plus double if I win in half the time," Vera said confidently. Rachelle laughed.

"Fat chance of that happening," Rachelle said. "But it will be more lien in my pocket." Vera walked off, looking forward to tomorrow; she was going to kick ass and get paid for it, what more could she ask for?

* * *

**A/N: And thus begins VYPR. To note, I have a reason for Vera having her Halberd/repeating Crossbow called **_**Fenrir**_**, but it shan't be revealed too soon. As for pairings, I am not sure, I am leaning towards Vera/Ruby, though I might change my mind. **

**Anyway, I hope you follow, favorite, and review this story!**


	2. Chapter 2: Vytal Festival Fighting Chal-

Chapter 2: Vytal Festival Fighting Challenge

* * *

Vera awoke to the sound of Junior punting a drunk patron who refused to pay his damn tab. Vera rubbed her eyes wearily, taking care not to poke her eyes. _Damn nails, must they always be so sharp? _

She began to get dressed in her black jacket and camo pants as Militia walked in.

"Morning Vera," Militia said. "Beautiful weather we are having." Vera sighed; Militia rarely did small talk, especially about the weather.

"Militia, what is it?" Vera asked. "And don't you dare say nothing; you never talk about the weather unless you have some bad news to give." Militia looked out the window, trying to think how best to tell Vera.

"Vera, huh, Roman is coming tonight for your victory and entry into Beacon," Militia finally said. "You know what that means, right?" Vera groaned.

"Damn it, I have to win then, now don't I?" Vera said. "Though do me a favor, can you, I don't know, size up the opposition in Beacon's challenge?"

"Ha, you must've think that Junior, Melanie, and I don't have you interest at heart," Militia said. "For starters, the competitors are all first years, as they don't want a lop-sided challenge. Second, most of the competitors are in it for 1v1, though there is a few hunters and huntress that are teaming up in case there is anyone that tag-team."

"That's good to know," Vera said. "So how do they square us off, does the challenger get a chance to pick their opponent?" Vera knew that being able to pick your opponent would have its advantages. For example, picking someone who specializes with hand to hand combat if you use range combat would give a certain degree of an advantage.

"Not that I am aware of," Militia said. Now then, finish getting dressed and meet up with the rest of us downstairs." Militia turned around and left, leaving Vera to gaze at a picture of her and her 'family' that was at a beach a month before she was inducted into Roman's operations. Junior didn't have his goatee, the Malachite twins were wearing considerable less make up, and Vera had a faint smile on her face. She sighed and finished dressing.

She left her room and headed downstairs, to see the club was being cleaned and Junior, Melanie, and Militia were chatting at the bar. Junior looked tired; probably from having to stay up to make sure nothing happened at the club.

"Hello Vera, good to see you this morning," Junior said. "Now then, I heard Militia informed you of what we know about the challenge. While I wish you had more information on who you might be fighting, we don't, so you are going to have to do your best. Also, while you are busy with taking on the Beacon challenger, I have a meeting with Roman, so I will keep him out of your hair for a while."

"Very well," Vera said quietly. "Then let me get _Fenrir_ and I will get going. Melanie, Militia, want to tag along?"

"We were planning on it anyway," Melanie said. "The challenge isn't for a few hours, and we want to check something at the festival." Melanie and Militia each grabbed a hat to wear. Vera rolled her eyes; a little sun wouldn't do the twins any harm.

"Alright then, bye Junior," Vera said. "We will see you after the challenge." Junior chuckled.

"Yeah, leave me with cleanup," Junior joked. "Just take care and kick some ass out there, you hear?" Vera grinned, and she and the twins headed out of the club.

Walking into the streets near noon, Vera was amazed by the amount of people that were attending the Vytal festival. Rarely were the streets this crowded, something that Vera was shocked by. Every time the Vytal festival was hosted, she usually was chasing down some deadbeat or looking for information regarding her father. She never been to the festival before, and she was modestly surprised.

However, before Vera could make a beeline to the challenge area, the Malachite twins dragged her off, to see the rest of town. They headed to the shopping center, where there were a couple of stands offering a wide variety of treats, drinks, items, or games to play.

The twins were smiling as they perused what the stands had to offer. Vera sighed as the twins were suckered into looking at the various jewelry stands. She didn't mind shopping, it's just why buy when you could easily steal? You get what you want, and you have your money.

She was following the twins when she was bumped into by what she could only explain as a red and black blur.

"Ouch!" said the blur as it slowed down into something more recognizable form. The 'blur' was actually a young teenage girl with red and black hair, silver eyes, and a black skirt with red trimmings and a red corset. "I didn't mean to hit you, so sorry!"

"Just slow down and watch where you are going," warned Vera, trying her best not to sucker punch the young teen. She saw Melanie give her a thumb's up. Great, now they were now giving her praise for not unloading her aggression.

"So, what brings you to the festival?" the girl asked. Vera sighed.

"I am here to take on one of Beacon's hunters to see if I can get in," Vera said. "Hopefully I will face off against someone who will give me a decent challenge."

"I don't doubt you will have a good challenge," the girl stated. "I go to Beacon and many of my friends are great fighters. I remember my initiation; my team and another team ended up having to fight off against a Nevermore and a death stalker! It was awesome how I took out the Nevermore."

Vera raised an eyebrow, wondering how a young teenager got into Beacon, never mind how she took out a Nevermore. She decided to gauge the girl.

"So why did you join Beacon?" Vera asked. The girl smiled.

"Well, I wanted to help people, and I was already going to Signal, but then I was offered to join Beacon after I took care of some thieves, which apparently a huntress was observing. But I really want to help people, and being a huntress would allow me to do that."

Vera sighed again. Why would a huntress take interest in someone, especially a young teenage girl such as her, and offer them a place in Beacon.

"What did you do to attract the huntress's attention; because I doubt taking on some thieves would've been enough to let you enter Beacon at your young age." Vera asked.

"Well, my skills with my weapon were what interested the headmaster, who stated that there was only one other scythe wielder with my skills," the girl said, crossing her arms. Vera nodded, she could see the appeal to a able scythe wielder for taking on the Grimm.

"Alright then," Vera began. "I guess I will see you later at the challenge if you are fighting. If not, see you at Beacon." Vera began to walk back to Melanie and Militia, seeing the twins breathe a sigh of relief.

"Oh your jerks thought I would beat that naïve girl senseless for bumping me?" Vera scoffed once she got with earshot of the twins. "God, have you no faith in me?"

"Well let's see," Melanie began. "Remember how last year you broke a man's arm after he spilt his drink on your jacket?"

"Or how about three months before that you used Hangover to beat a guy senseless after he called you 'sweetheart'?" Militia added.

"Oh, I nearly forgot about the time you put a guy's hair on fire after he said you were hot!" Melanie interjected. The twins looked at her for a moment before they both synchronized their speech.

"So yes, we were concerned for the poor girl's life," the twins said. "You anger is great and terrifying."

"Shut up," Vera said. "Just get your fancy jewelry so I can meet up with Rachelle and see who I will be facing."

"Ugh, what a one track mind," Militia said, shaking her head. Vera turned around, waiting for the twins to purchase their gifts, and saw that the teenage girl had disappeared in the crowd. Vera then felt Melanie tap her shoulder, and they went off to where Beacon's challenge was being held.

To say there was a crowd was an understatement. There were easily a few hundred people already sitting in the bleachers that surrounded a large arena, a number of them placing bets on how many challengers would get admitted into Beacon. The Malachite twins bid good bye, heading to the bleachers, leaving her to submit herself into the challenge. She approached the challenge submission stand.

"Name?" asked a man with gray hair and an impressive mustache. He was quite large, filling his Beacon professor's uniform. Vera smiled as she read his name tag; Professor Port was a man that, while egoistical, could back his claims up.

"Vera Noir," she said confidently. Professor Port smiled.

"Ah, Ozpin said you would show up," Port said. "But back to your submission. Age?"

"18 years old," Vera said.

"Weapon?"

"A halberd/automatic crossbow hybrid called _Fenrir_." Port nodded, and Vera could tell he was respecting her for her weapon.

"Last thing, one on one or two on two?" Port asked. Vera knew that he was clarifying whether she would pair up with someone or fight by herself.

"One on one," Vera stated. Port nodded again, and handed her non-disclosure agreement.

"Very well, just sign here and here to state you understand that you can't sue Beacon for any damages done," Port said. "You wouldn't believe the number of 'men' who come crying demanding compensation for a bit of hurt pride."

"Hehe, I think I could," Vera said. She signed and handed the form back to Port. "Now I assume I can mingle with the others who are in the challenge?"

Port pointed to a tent on the other side of the arena. Vera thanked him and headed off to the tent, and upon entering saw that there were a number of people inside. Most were young men with heavy armor and large sword. Vera knew instinctively they were most likely to lose, as they had too much confidence in their armor and weapons and lacked the skills needed to win.

But there were a couple that didn't seem like the usual dare devils that thought luck was on their side. She saw a pair of twins, a sister and brother with brown matted hair wearing a green uniform that seemed to have come from the lands to the North. They seemed to have endured the harsh winters and relentless attacks from Grimms, wherever they came from.

Vera was about to walk over to them when she felt a person poke her in the back. She turned around and saw Rachelle standing there.

"And you finally arrive," Rachelle said, twirling her finger in her hair. "So tell me, anyone in here other than the two of us got a snowballs chance in hell?" Vera chuckled.

"Well, if the Beacon's hunters know what they are doing, then probably only the Northern twins," Vera said. "Maybe some of the kids got a chance if the hunter gets tired or they do indeed have luck on their side."

"Same thoughts here," Rachelle said. "Seems like each generation gets softer and softer, don't it?" Vera shrugged.

"Depends if they have had a sheltered life or not," Vera countered. "If these kids had grown up with the Grimm pressing on their doors, they might've been tough sons of bitches. But as it stands, we stand amongst a crowd of rich wannabes."

Rachelle smirked, and she grabbed some Lien out of her pocket.

"Still up for that bet?" she asked. Vera nodded, her eyes shining in anticipation.

"Nothing is going to stop me from making some money today."

* * *

"Dear god, that was utterly terrible," Vera stated, watching what felt like the umpteenth challenger walk away, limping in utter defeat.

While she expected the Beacon hunters and huntresses to be good, she didn't expect the slaughter she was watching. Most matches barely lasted a few minutes, as the hunters would overwhelm the challengers into submission. It gave her some pause, before she shook herself of any doubt. She couldn't be deterred by some brats, most of whom never had to kill a man to survive.

"I was expecting some interesting contenders," Rachelle commented, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "But damn, some of these wimps suck. I mean, who would dare charge straight into that young girl who obviously knows how to wield a scythe?"

Vera nodded, impressed by that fight. It only lasted a minute, the fastest fight there was, but it showed Ruby Rose, apparently the same girl she had bumped into earlier, beating a giant of a challenger by blasting away at his defenses, and then throwing him around by hooking him with her scythe whenever he charged. It was quite pathetic really. That man had no chance against Ruby.

"Next, we have Rachelle Buntline, a skilled gunslinger, facing off against Beacon's own Pyrrha Nikos, four time winner of the Mistral's Regional Tournament!" Professor Port announced. "This looks to be a good match!"

"Well, my time to shine," Rachelle said. "Have my lien ready when you get down with your match!" She walked to the arena before Vera could counter her. Vera sighed and leaned on the railing, seeing Rachelle standing off against Pyrrha.

She knew of Pyrrha's reputation, having listened on the radio about the Mistral's tournaments. She knew she would parry most blows away with her shield, while thrusting with her pilum/rifle combination weapon.

"Alright, three, two, one, fight!" Port yelled, shooting his blunderbuss into the air to start the match.

Pyrrha charged with her shield in front of her as she attempted to close the distance against Rachelle. Vera saw Rachelle however pull out two long barreled revolvers and quickly fire at the ground. She wondered what Rachelle was doing when she saw the bullets ricochet off the steel ground and past Pyrrha's shield.

"Oh, what an impressive show of marksmanship; Rachelle managed to shoot around Pyrrha's shield!" Port announced. Vera smiled as the aura count for both contestant was being monitored. Pyrrha had lost a tenth of her aura with those two shots.

Pyrrha, having realized the threat, lowered her shield and changed Milos into rifle form. She took aim at Rachelle and fired, only for Rachelle to dodge to the left. Pyrrha then began firing at the evading Rachelle, hoping to land a successful hit.

However, Vera saw Rachelle trying to land some ricochet shots on Pyrrha, but her attempts were landing short, as Pyrrha had begun to be able to shield at the last moment, thus preventing the bullets from hitting.

"Ah, must you always hide behind your shield?" Rachelle taunted. "Well then, better blow it away then!" In an instant, Rachelle's revolvers combined, giving way to a massive revolver rifle that seemed to be chambered by a pump action.

Rachelle aimed and quickly fired off six massive rounds, while taking a couple of shots by Pyrrha. The six rounds knocked the shield out of Pyrrha's hand, and even did some damage. At the moment, both were at half aura, only a couple more shots would determine the match.

Without her shield to hide behind, Pyrrha shifted Milos back into a pilum, and quickly charged at Rachelle, hoping to catch her with an empty rifle. However, Rachelle saw this and quickly de-combined her rifle, quickly loading both revolvers while she dodged the thrusts from Pyrrha.

Rachelle raised both revolvers and unloaded at close range at Pyrrha, who had managed to get past Rachelle's evasive moves and land a hit with Milos. Vera was shocked when the buzzer rang. She looked at the score board, and saw it was Rachelle at twenty-six percent aura, while Pyrrha was at twenty percent.

"And we have our first winner!" Port announced. "Rachelle Buntline has managed to be Pyrrha Nikos through overwhelming firepower and clever tactics." Vera saw the time and frowned; the match took shy over eight minutes, leaving her to have to beat her opponent in four minutes if she wanted to double up.

After shaking hands with Pyrrha, Rachelle sauntered back to where Vera was watching.

"Haha, have a good time beating my time!" Rachelle taunted. Vera snarled.

"Just you fucking watch," Vera warned. "Whoever I face off against will fear me by the end of the battle!" Rachelle waved the comment off, as though saying 'whatever, don't give a shit,'.

"Up next we have our only two versus two battle!" Professor Port announced. "From Beacon we have the calm lie Rein and the compulsive Nora Valkyrie versus the explosive Yekaterina and Pushkin Romanov!"

Vera saw that the Beacon team was composed of a calm Asian male with a formal green dress and two submachine guns and a woman in a black and white shirt and pink skirt, carrying a large Warhammer. The Romanov twins meanwhile were in identical green uniforms and were carrying two quite large weapons. What they were however was an unknown, as Vera couldn't tell just by looking at them.

Port once again fired his blunderbuss to start the match, and almost like it was planned, Ren went left, trying to take out Yekaterina, while Nora shifted her hammer into a grenade launcher and focused her fire on Pushkin.

However, like Beacon's team, the Romanov twins were in synch. They both split up, forcing Beacon's team to split their efforts. Pushkin smiled as Nora fired a volley of grenades at him. He easily dodge them, expanding his weapon.

Vera eye's widen at it turned into a massive machine gun, with a modified trigger to allow him to fire with only a single hand.

"Good bye little one!" Pushkin yelled, as his fired the massive weapon. The report from it firing was thankfully dampened by the arena's noise cancellation devices, but it was still loud enough to be heard.

Nora took a hit, and it knocked her down to fifty percent. Realizing that standing her ground wasn't an option, she quickly shifted her weapon back into a hammer, and began throwing herself into the air, determined to make it as difficult as possible for Pushkin to hit her.

Meanwhile, Ren was giving Yekaterina a run for her money. The young man had been able to prevent her from deploying her weapon, focusing on quick attacks. She was down to fifty percent, and Ren must've felt confident on being able to knock her out as he shifted his attention to helping Nora take down Pushkin.

Vera realized when Yekaterina smiled that this was what the Romanovs were banking on. With their backs turned on her, Yekaterina deployed her weapon. To say it was a monster was an understatement; it would've compensated for an entire army's downfalls.

It was a multi-barrel rocket launcher that was strapped to her back. Vera counted at least ten tubes, and knew that Yekaterina was the Romanovs; heavy artillery.

"Incoming Pushkin!" Yekaterina yelled out, and she knelt to the ground as she fired off her barrage. The rockets screamed out of the tubes, and began to target both Nora and Ren. Nora shifted her hammer into a grenade launcher, and began to fire upon the various rockets. But after only taking four of the rockets out, the other six burst releasing a number of sub-munitions, which exploded all around Beacon's team.

"Holy crap; who would design such a weapon!?" Port exclaimed. "Much less use it on only two people!" Vera chuckled as the score rendered down to Nora being knocked out. However, much to her surprise, Ren managed to avoid getting hit even once.

Seeing Yekaterina as the threat she was, Ren focused fire on the now largely immobile Yekaterina, knocking her aura down to below twenty five percent, taking her out of the game. This left Pushkin facing off against Ren, both who were at full capacity.

"This is what you get for hurting my sister you bastard!" Pushkin yelled, while slapping in a new magazine into the heavy machine gun. He began firing, but instead of large bullets, several pellets flew out the barrel. Vera realized he switched from heavy rounds to shotgun shells.

Ren, despite his fancy evasion techniques, was being whittled down by the sheer volume of fire coming down on him. His aura began to drop, but he kept the pressure on Pushkin, landing shot after shot on the Northerner.

"Is that all you got?!" Pushkin taunted. "Well how about you try this for size?" Pushkin shifted his machine gun into something with a much larger but shorter barrel, and Vera saw him load 30mm grenades into the weapon. Vera shook her head; just how massive of a weapon could this gun become?

Pushkin fired, and while everyone expected to see several large explosions, instead what they saw was a massive wall of flechettes, all aimed at Ren. Ren, seeing as how he wouldn't be able to evade, poured his entire magazine into Pushkin, hoping to knock him out.

The buzzer rang again, and it showed that Ren was really close, knocking Pushkin down to twenty seven percent aura reserves. However Pushkin drove Ren's down to thirteen percent. Port declared the Romanov twins the winner, and Vera knew she was next.

She walked down to the arena (after Rachelle taunted her about the bet), and she walked in, spotting the Malachite twins in the stands. They were making a number of hand gestures, and she raised an eyebrow, having a hard time deciphering what they were trying to say. She squinted, and made out 'bitch', 'wreck', and 'club' from the gestures they used whenever they couldn't talk in the noisy club, but Vera was confused. But her thoughts were interrupted by Port speaking.

"And now, for the last battle of the day, we have from Beacon, Yang Xia Long, renowned for her unique hand to hand combat skills. Challenging her however is Vera Noir, a halberd weapon user!"

Vera stared at yang from across the arena. With her blonde hair, violet eyes, and overuse of the color yellow in her get up, Vera felt sick just looking at her. But Vera gazed at Yang's hands and saw a pair of shotgun gauntlets on them. It clicked was the Malachite twins were saying; 'this is the bitch that wrecked the club'.

"Oh, you are so screwed now," Vera muttered under her breath.

"And now, in three, two, one, fight!"

Vera quickly deployed Fenrir to full size, before proceeding to charge at Yang.

"Oh, this is going to be easy," Yang said, as she began to fire at Vera with her gauntlets. Vera however was used to brute force techniques, and easily dodged the shots, getting closer to Yang. Vera braced herself for her attack, swinging _Fenrir_ back before she attacked.

When she got to within striking distance, Vera swung _Fenrir_ in a wide arc, hoping to connect to Yang's mid torso. But surprisingly, Yang reacted by raising her hands in a boxer's block and lowering herself to meet the attack. When _Fenrir_ struck, Yang managed to block the attack, and she quickly push aside Fenrir and launched an attack at Vera.

"Nice try!" Yang taunted as she unloaded her shotgun gauntlets at Vera. Vera only had a few seconds to react, and she decided on blocking the gauntlet's barrage. Quickly bringing Fenrir back to her, she emblazed _Fenrir_ with the dust in the staff, and quickly began blocking each blast that Yang sent at her.

"Damn you blondie," Vera growled, growing annoyed with Yang's gauntlets. "Can't you do something other than use your shotgun gauntlets?" At this provocation, Yang activated her semblance, and she erupted in flames.

"Oh, you think I am a one trick pony?" yang asked. "Well block this!" She recoiled her arm back, before throwing a massive right hook at Vera. Vera, knowing she needed to get a read on Yang, had activated her semblance and was ready for the attack.

"Oh no you don't!" Vera roared, and she quickly leveled _Fenrir's_ spear point in the path of Yang's punch. While Yang was fast, she wasn't fast enough to stop her punch, causing her hand to go straight into the spear. Vera heard the loud crack as the bone in Yang's hand shattered.

"FUCK!" Yang yelled, jumping back in pain. Her eyes became blood red, almost on the same scale of red as Vera. "I am going to make you pay for that!"

Yang reloaded her gauntlets, and charged at Vera. But Vera could tell what she was going to do before she even acted on them. When Yang began launching a volley of shots at Vera, Vera quickly dodged where the shots were going, and Vera swung Fenrir to hook one of Yang's gauntlets.

"Time to end your fun!" Vera said, a smile creeping on her face. She pulled _Fenrir_ towards her, ripping Yang's right gauntlet off her hand and throwing Yang off balanced. However, yang used that moment to get past Vera's semblance and violently punch at the ground, causing the ground to shake from the impact of her punch.

Vera lost her footing, and fell to the ground, shocked by the power of Yang's punch. She braced herself, expecting Yang to exploit her being on the ground, but was surprised to see Yang use the time to retrieve her other gauntlet.

"Think I am going to go down so easily?!" Yang yelled. "Then you are going to have to do better than that!" Yang charged, blasting away with her gauntlets in an attempt to catch Vera off guard. Vera was quick to block each blast with _Fenrir_. However, Vera could tell that Yang was pouring all of her efforts into beating her into a pulp, and in a game of attrition, Yang would probably win.

So Vera did the only rational thing to do; stay as far away as possible. Choosing to jump at the moment Yang would close her eye in a massive punch; Vera slammed a magazine of bolts into _Fenrir_ and took aim.

"This ends now!" Vera declared, and released a volley of bolts at Yang, who had no counter other than to dodge. While Yang managed to avoid most of the bolts, a few managed to impact her, and she was thrown back from the impact.

Vera was confident that at this rate she would win, however Yang had other plans. Charging again at Vera, at the last moment, Yang shot at the ground, throwing herself into the air and began blasting away at Vera from the air.

Vera took a couple of blast from the shotgun gauntlets. They hurt worse than getting hit by a car, something Vera knew all too well from past experience. She stumbled, not expecting to be hit from above. She put her hand to her mouth, and saw a trickle of her dark red blood oozing from her nose. Something snapped in Vera, something she only felt in times of extreme hate.

Yang meanwhile was reloading her gauntlets, and saw Vera looking at her hands. Not realizing the danger she was in, she decided now was the perfect time to taunt Vera.

"Aww, did Ms. Pale not expect to get hurt?" Yang asked sarcastically. "If that was the case, then being a huntress is definitely not in your best interest! Better take you out of the challenge!"

But before Yang could even so much as move a foot, she felt a wave of complete and utter terror overcoming her. She remembered the moment when Ruby nearly got killed by the Deathstalker, of the time in their childhood where she nearly lost Ruby due to her incompetence, of the time when Ruby nearly drowned.

Yang clutched her head, forgetting she was in the arena. She fought to regain control over her emotions, yet the terror caused her to seize up. She looked up, and saw to her horror a very enraged Vera, gripping her Fenrir like an executioner's axe.

Vera didn't bother with a swing from Fenrir; no, she wanted Yang to fear her, to cower at the mere sight of her. She kicked her on her back, and in a show of dominance place a foot on her neck. She quickly raised _Fenrir_ in front of Yang's face, aimed for her right eye.

"Now," Vera began. "Listen closely, blondie. You aren't comparable to anyone, or anything I have ever faced. You don't make me fear you, you don't scare me, and you certainly don't impress me! Nothing you do will ever make me think twice, nothing you have done will garner my respect! I hope to hell you learn the true meaning to suffering, to hate, because if you don't, I will sure as hell ensure you do!"

Vera then shifted her aim and slammed _Fenrir_ into Yang's shoulders, shattering both shoulders and causing a stream of blood to come out of both. Yang let out a blood curdling scream, and she instinctively curled up, trying to stop the bleeding.

Vera got off of Yang, and she shifted _Fenrir_ back into its carrying form. She gazed at the crowd, most of who were wide eyed. But she saw Ruby Rose jump into the arena and rush over to her sister, fretting over her. Vera wondered how the two could be related, but knew they were just by how Ruby acted with Yang. Vera smirked; nothing said being utterly humiliated than having to be attended to by your younger sister.

She saw the score and saw that she had forty percent of her 'aura' remaining, while Yang was down to a meager ten percent. She cursed her luck as her fight took seven minutes to complete; no doubling up on the bet. Vera began to walk out of the arena, with Port not having to bother announcing the victor.

She walked to where she saw Rachelle and the Malachite twins were standing. Rachelle had a look of utter defeat in her eyes, having lost fifty lien to Vera. But the twins were ecstatic.

"Thank you for teaching that blonde bitch a lesson," Militia said. "She deserved having both shoulders broken, considering she wreck the club, beat us, Junior, and several of the employees, and cost us valuable customers. Good riddance to that bitch."

"I grew annoyed with her cocky and aggressive fighting style," Vera noted. "She had way too much confidence in herself; I doubt she ever suffered a defeat in a fight."

"I would agree," Rachelle said. "But seriously, you think it was worth shattering her shoulders over?" Vera raised an eyebrow.

"I doubt she was held back during her fight with my 'family'," Vera said. "I mean, she punched Junior out of the club's second story window." She found out by a patron that was a passerby at the time of the incident.

"Fair enough," Rachelle said. "How about we head back to the club and toast to our victory over those self-righteous punks of Beacon?"

"Hehe, fair enough," Vera said. "I will have to see Junior later tonight anyway." And with that, Vera, the Malachite twins, and Rachelle headed to Junior's club, not noticing the looks of hate and fear casted at them by Yang's teammates.

* * *

**Author's Notes: And here is the new chapter! Plenty of fighting, and revenge on Yang for fucking up Junior's Hangover and club. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Don't know when I will get to the next chapter, but it will involve Roman, a bit of Vera's past, and Vera's journey to Beacon. Until next time, please follow, favorite, and review!**


	3. Chapter 3: En route to Beacon

Chapter 3: En Route to Beacon

* * *

"Ah, how did you do Vera?" Junior asked, pouring a glass of whiskey for himself. Vera, Rachelle, and the Malachite twins were back at the club, where Junior had temporarily closed down for the celebrations (and to not let any patrons see Roman or the White Fang associates he was brining). Vera gave a Cheshire grin.

"I defeated the blonde bitch that fucked up the club," Vera said proudly. Instantly, the club employees (mostly enforcers) cheered, and Junior laughed.

"Tell me you broke her down!" Junior roared. As Vera nodded, Junior pointed to the man behind the bar. "Let loose the drinks, today is a good day; Vera is going to Beacon, and the blonde bitch has been humbled!"

The henchmen and club employees began getting drinks, the music was turned up, and Vera saw that everyone was having a good time. She chuckled; nothing like hearing an enemy being beaten to rouse a party.

"My, my, what did you do now Ms. Noir?" asked the half-taunting, half-amused voice of Roman Torchwick. Vera turned and saw that he had brought several White fang soldiers and Cinder Falls. Vera glared at Cinder, not caring much for the manipulative bitch. She respected Roman because he had help raise her from time to time with Junior, and because he got into the thick of the fray when needed, but Cinder preferred to hide in the shadows, letting others do her work.

"I kicked the living shit out of the blonde bitch that wrecked through the club," Vera said. She saw Roman raise an eyebrow before she had to stifle a snicker. "Let me guess, Junior didn't tell you he got his ass handed to him, did he?"

"No he didn't," Roman said. "So I take it you are indeed heading into Beacon?" Vera nodded.

"Yeah, same with Rachelle; she is the redhead over there, and it looks like she is winning shots against Junior. Pathetic that Junior can't handle his liquor." Roman nodded.

"He sure is," he agreed. "However, since you are heading to Beacon soon, I would like to talk to you about some things, in private."

Vera sighed, putting her Moscow Mule down. She nodded, giving her consent, and Roman lead her to the 'storage room'. In reality, it was where Junior and his contacts would sell illegally obtained materials, from firearms to drugs, and store it. Roman leaned on one of the boxes that contained a shipment of Series-3 assault rifles.

"Vera, with you going into Beacon, you could be a valuable spy for my operations," Roman began. "However, Beacon is practically a military compound, so we are going to use some precautions."

"And why, pray tell, would I want to spy for Cinder?" Vera said, starting to poke holes in Roman's plans. "It isn't your operation, it is Cinders. Given the chance, you would never rely on the incompetent White Fang, well except for maybe Adam, but Cinder has your balls in the vice grip. So you are singing to her tune, and not your own, so I will ask only one more time, why would I want to spy for Cinder?"

Roman was about to speak, probably going to give some lame excuse, when he was abruptly cut off.

"Because I have means that neither Roman, Junior, the White Fang, or your soon to be 'allies' at Beacon have to chase down you father," Cinder said, coming into view. She was wearing her signature red dress, and her eyes were a golden crimson color.

"Do you have the information now?!" Vera demanded, grabbing ahold of Fenrir and deploying it, thrusting the spike to just make contact to Cinder's neck. Cinder smiled before she grabbed ahold of the shaft and yanked it out of Vera's hand. Surprised, Vera wasn't able to react quickly enough to stop Cinder from grabbing ahold of her neck with her right hand.

"Ah, the little cub has yet to learn its place in the chain," Cinder mocked. "You are below Roman, who is below my associates, who are below me."

Vera tried to pry a part Cinder's fingers, but alas, it was futile. Cinder's grip was absolute, something one wouldn't expect from a woman of her statue.

"Now, I don't have the information, as of now," Cinder said. "However, I could easily obtain the information. Then, once you have done your bit of spying for me, I will give it to you so can kill your dearest father."

Cinder let go of Vera's throat and smiled as Vera collapsed onto the ground, struggling to breathe.

"Next time you go up against me, I will do more than hold onto your neck," Cinder warned. "I am capable of doing so much worse to you than you could ever imagine."

Cinder left the room, leaving Roman standing awkwardly in the corner, too afraid to come near Vera. Vera meanwhile struggled to get up, her memories of her father drowning her, her wrath against him building up. She glared at Roman.

"I am going to rest," Vera noted coldly. "I will only help Cinder to kill my father, so consider the fact I am not beating the shit out of you for not stopping Cinder a gift." Roman sighed.

"What could I have done, we both know that she is more than a match for the two of us, don't you remember what happened the first time she came to the club?"

Vera growled, annoyed that Roman was sadly right. Cinder was as much, if not more, of a monster than her own father. It didn't help her though, as her mind wanted revenge on the black hair bitch.

"Fine," Vera said in an attempt to end the conversation. "I am going to leave now; don't send anyone into my room until morning, as God only knows what might happen to them if I am disturbed."

She left without seeing the paling face of Roman left in the room. She walked up the stairs, ignoring the Malachite twins' attempt to talk to her, ignoring the concerned look on Junior's face. When one of the henchmen touched her shoulder, she snapped and broke his wrist and shoulder before proceeding to lock herself in her room.

She crawled into her bed, her mind now drenched in the horrors of her past. She became helpless as the images of her past rolled in by force.

* * *

_~Memory flashback: 12 years ago~_

Vera, just turned six, awoke in her little hell. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, accidently scratching her eyes, causing a little bit of bleeding. Biting softly on her lower lips to keep the yelp that was in her throat down, Vera tasted the metallic taste of her blood. She felt disgusted by the fact it was all too familiar to her.

She had a simple, yet at the same time wonderful, dream. She was living in a normal house, with her mother that was in the kitchen, baking her a cake for her sixth birthday. She had friends over, laughing and playing with her, and she was in a simple white dress, smiling.

But now awake, she saw how painfully deluded the dream was. She was chained to her bed, with enough chain to allow her to reach the bucket she had to use for her 'bodily functions'. And around her bed was a barrier of iron bars, with only a simple door to let one person to enter.

She curled up, gripping her knees, sadden that her wish, to be free from this hell, had once again eluded her. She felt tears rolling down her face, sadden by the fact that any minute 'he' would come down. To taunt her, to beat her, to make her feel little and weak. She cringed at the thoughts of the inevitable pain that would come.

"Ah, you are awake, good. That will make this all the more fun to watch; I hate it when my little test subjects aren't awake to feel the effects of my experiments," said the falsely peaceful voice of her father. Vera turned to face him, and saw his wretched figure.

He, like her, was a Faunus, a wolf Faunus to be precise. He was taller than most men, with gray hair and his eyes were a dull and muted grey. He was wearing a doctor's lab coat, and he held a needle in his hand.

"Now my little angel," her father said. "I have something I need to give you; don't worry, it won't hurt. Hurt much that is." He laughed, and Vera felt her blood freeze, causing her to shake.

"Now, do you remember those stories your mother told you about the Grimm?" When she nodded, he smiled. "Now, just for a refresher, Grimms are creatures of darkness with no souls. With no souls, they lack the ability to use Aura, and they seem vulnerable to Dust; at least that is the presumption."

"I suspect that in reality humans were able to exploit Dust in such ways as to limit the Grimm's influences in battle, mostly by staying outside of their reach. But alas, that isn't what concerns you at the moment. What concerns you is the fact that, in the long history of Remnant, not a single Faunus has been linked to the Grimm."

Vera looked into his eyes, wondering what was going on. She knew she had to get out, sooner rather than later, but how? She was chained, sealed in this prison that she called her home, with nothing but herself to use.

"So, I wondered to myself, could the Faunus ever become linked to the Grimm, to gain their vicious combat prowess?" her father then waved the needle slightly. "So using several test subject, with varying degrees of successes, after numerous trials and errors, I have come up with this. I don't have a name for it, but if it works, it should endow you with the powers of the Grimm."

He entered the cage, and Vera tried to stay as far away from him as she could, but it was futile. He didn't even get angry at her for trying to stay away; rather he seemed excited to inject her with the Grimm essence and knew she couldn't escape fate. He chuckled as he forcefully grabbed her wrist and shoved the needle into her upper arm, injecting her with the black substance.

The results were instantaneous. She buckled over in extreme and excruciating pain, her mind becoming dark with new thoughts. She felt her face aflame, and she could see her vision shifting to something unnatural and vile. She looked at her father, and saw he was aglow with shadows surrounding his body.

"Yes, YES!" he yelled. "My work, all the tests, all the experiments, they were a success! HAHAHA, now I know it will do me no harm!" As he ran off, Vera continued to struggle with her mind.

"_Get out and kill!" _screeched a voice full of malice. _"Kill all the humans, kill THEM!" _

Vera, outside of her control, felt her body moving on the mind's accord. She walked to the door to her cell, only to be stopped by the chain. Vera hoped that her body would force the mind to recede, to allow her to take over control. But her mind had other thoughts.

"_Kekeke, he thought a chain would protect him from our wrath?" _the Grimm mind asked_. "He is WRONG!" _

Before Vera could attempt to stop the mind, she felt a surge of anger and power rip through her body. She let out an inhuman roar as she reeled her arm back and then suddenly thrust it forward with such energy that the chains snapped. Vera felt her arm snap, but the pain was smothered over by a feeling of freedom and rage.

"_Yes, time to start the killing!" The Grimm mind said excited. "Never stop the killing, NEVER!" _At this point, Vera faded out of conscious, and was left with only images of what happened.

She saw an image of her wreaking havoc in the house of her bleak and tortured existence, going after her father.

"What?!" he yelled. "How could this be happening, it wasn't that much of the essence?!" He dodge an attack from Vera, whose claws had extended to become basically knives. Vera kept taking swipes at him, but her lack of food and energy was apparent.

"Never mind, I can't waste any more time here," her father muttered, as he grabbed a needle with more of the Grimm essence. "This is the end for you, VERA!" He stabbed himself with the injector, before giving a harsh laugh and throwing himself out of the window.

The next image was of Vera inside a different house, where a man was fighting her off, yelling to his wife to take the children away.

"Just leave!" he yelled at his wife. "I don't know how much longer I can hold her off!" The wife however jumped in with a scythe and took a swing at Vera. Vera backed off, the Grimm mind hissing in anger and disgust.

"_They will never leave the void, NEVER!" _The Grimm Mind started then to laugh_. "It will be fun letting the husband see as we rip his wife to shreds in front of him and their children!" _

Vera charged when the wife swung, getting inside the scythe's blade. The next moment, she had her claws tearing apart her throat, the blood running down her hand and splattering her face.

"NO, SUMMER!" the husband yelled in anguish. Vera turned to him and was about to strike him when a roar sent a chill down her spine. She turned around and saw an imposing figure standing in front of her. It looked like a Beowolf from the stories her mother taught her about the Grimm. Its fur however was a dark gray, the spikes were larger, and the armored plates weren't just relegated to the face, but also the chest, the forearms, and the front of the legs.

"Hehe, how is your first kill, my daughter?" the figure asked. Vera felt the seizure of terror rip through her as the memory faded, coming to the last image before she managed to regain control after collapsing from exhaustion.

She was standing in the streets, bodies lying everywhere in the streets. The houses that were in view were on fire, the black smoke covering the blue sky, the embers lighting bodies on fire. But the most grotesque part of this massacre were the screams of the still living victims.

Vera turned her attention to a young child, who was trying to 'wake' her mother. She had short fox ears, and she seemed in shock, unable to comprehend the terror that was before her.

"Mommy, wake up," the child pleaded. Vera tried to resist the Grimm mind, but it laughed at her feeble attempts.

"_It is futile to resist your fate, young one," _it stated_. "The killing of those who have the wretched aura must take priority. KILL HER!"_

Vera felt her right arm raise above the child, before plummeting to the ground, with the sound of bones and the young girl's final scream ripping through the air. Vera felt like she wanted to throw-up, to push the monster's mind out of her head. She never wanted to kill, especially not a child like herself.

"Isn't this wonderful?" asked her father, who was standing now in front of Vera. "This is the fate of those who tried to resist the will of the Grimm; to be sent to the void from whence they came. This power, it's the power of a god of vengeance!"

He laughed, and he casually ripped apart the body of a man who tried to play dead. The man's guts laid at her father's feet, the blood staining his gray fur.

"The two of us could do anything, kill anyone!" her father yelled. "WE WOULD BE UNSTOPPABLE!" Vera felt the Grimm mind casually agree, however, at this point, Vera felt herself regaining her composure.

"Never," she started to speak. Her father glared at her.

"What was that?" he growled, bracing himself. Vera glared at him, and felt her claws starting to recede.

"I will NEVER BE LIKE YOU!" she yelled, and charged at her father. However, the difference between them was too much; he was stronger, faster, smarter, in better health, and was one with the Grimm, while Vera was impoverished, and was mentally and physically exhausted. When Vera was in his reach, he casually swung his arms, sending her flying into a brick wall.

She felt her vision fade, but her last image was of her father. He was in her face, his new features glowing red with anger, his eyes giving her a mirror into her new looks. The Grimm pattern now adorned her face, her eyes were red as blood, and her hair was now a pitch black.

"I will come for you later, and force you to see the elegance of the Grimm," he vowed, before he punched her, knocking her out.

When she awoke, she found herself in the middle of a forest. She felt the tug of the Grimm mind, trying to reassert itself. But Vera was at least strong enough to resist its temptations, and she mentally sealed it off for the time being. She got up and began to walk, hoping to figure out where she was.

She had walked for an hour when she came across a cliff, and she gasped in horror. From the cliff, she saw the smoke from the ruins of her town, and saw many bulkheads flying to it, with Hunters and Huntresses offloading from them, trying to secure and determine the cause of the massacre. She threw up; disgusted by the fact she was the one partially responsible for those that died in the town.

She numbly walked, considering her options. She couldn't risk going back into normal society. What if she loses control to the Grimm mind? What if someone knew what she had done? The 'what ifs' kept coming, and she felt herself going into despair, with no possible future.

She didn't know how long she had been walking when she accidently bumped into someone, lost in her thoughts.

"Hey, watch it!" shouted an annoyed man, who was dressed in a black pants, white shirt, and a black vest. He had short black hair, and he seemed to be Asian. Vera looked up into his eyes, and saw that he was irked that she had bumped into him.

"_Kill him," _the Grimm minded yelled, getting past the barriers she had put up_. "Kill Him and be free from the disgustingly narrowed and prejudiced society these abominations have created! Only the Grimm can inherit Remnant!" _

"Cut the young girl some slack Junior," said a girl dressed in a red shirt and mini skirt. "Look, she is covered in blood, her clothes are ripped and tarnished, and she might've survived the massacre that occurred in Frontier."

Vera saw another girl kneel down to her, looking at her closely.

"You alright?" the girl, wearing a green-white shirt, asked. The Grimm Mind began to yell.

"_KILL THEM ALL! THEY ARE A THREAT TO YOU VERY EXSISTENCE!" _But Vera, who was almost taken over by the Grimm Mind, was surprised when the girl began wiping her face with a handkerchief. Vera felt something reignited in her, a sense of care being restored.

She, ever since her mother fled for her life, was left in darkness, tortured and uncared for. And now, her father had tried to control her, to force her into becoming a full fledge Grimm. Yet here was a complete stranger, taking time to wipe her face clean.

"Not really," Vera said after a while. "I-I lost everything." The girl frowned.

"I know it must hurt now," the girl said, not understanding the situation. "However, it will get easier to handle. But for now, can you tell me your name?"

Vera looked at the young girl, her sister, and the man who was rubbing the back of his neck, obviously feeling awkward about not considering she might've been a survivor. The Grimm mind tried one last push.

"_You will never be safe!" _it yelled_. "You must give yourself to the Grimm, to become one with darkness, as those with souls with look down upon you and condemn you to death!" _

"_I will never become a monster like my father or you," Vera thought, pushing the Grimm Mind back. "I would rather resist than give in and lose myself to you." _

"My name is Vera," Here, Vera paused. Her technical last name was Schwarz, but it was the name given to her by her father, a sign of him. She then thought of a suitable last name. "Vera Noir."

_Flashback ends_

* * *

"Vera, is everything alright?" asked Militia. "It's half past noon."

Vera opened her eye, straining at the light pouring into her room. She groaned, stretching her limbs that were tensed up in her moment of anger last night. She looked into the mirror, and cringed at the sight of her face, still adorned by the red tribal tattoo pattern that all grim had. She sighed, deciding she needed to answer Militia.

"Yeah, just remembering my past is all," Vera said. "Just Cinder got to the better of me, as always." She heard Militia chuckle behind the door.

"I suppose," Militia stated. "Anyway, a letter with your intuition and pass into Beacon just arrived; I figure you would want to read it to see when you leave."

"Just tell me what it says," Vera stated. In all reality, Vera hated reading letters; they were either bills, so formal it made you want to gag, or were filled with 'surprises' that often led to the receiver going to the hospital.

"Well, you leave in one week via an airship," Militia stated. "Also, while your entering is an informal induction to Beacon, a la not coming in at the start of the year, you will still undergo the initiation process to determine your team. Let's see, is there anything else important, oh just the standard rules and regulations. That's it."

Vera scratched her neck while she took in this information. In one week she would leave to go to school, to deal with kids that were probably spoiled and didn't know the harsh realities of this world. But it also meant one other thing; she would be working at the bar for another week.

"GOD DAMN IT!"

~_time skip one week_~

Vera stood at the departure gate, waiting for the bulkhead to arrive to take her, along with the other winners, to Beacon. She sighed when Junior place his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about what Cinder 'asked' of you," Junior said, making air quotes. "Just focus on learning how to kill the Grimm, improving your skills, and not beating your school mates with Fenrir."

"Haha, really funny," Vera said sarcastically. "What you do, take a page out of the Malachites' joke book?" Junior pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing.

"No, I was being serious," Junior said coolly. "You never solve social issues without resorting to violence, so I am hoping perhaps you will learn how to socialize while at Beacon."

Vera looked down, feeling a little ashamed about thinking Junior was joking when he wasn't. She was however surprised when Junior gave her a hug.

"Just be safe, for Cinder's plans are coming along faster than expected," Junior said, whispering in her ear. "The White Fang, with Cinder's help, are planning something big. So be safe, and if need be, keep your head down."

Vera rolled her eyes, but she nodded.

"Will do," Vera said. "However, if I find anything about my father…" She left it hanging, as she saw Junior was nodding.

"I understand. I don't like it, but I understand why you must do what you have to," Junior stated. "Just be sure you can kill him."

Vera nodded, and soon a nearby speaker squawked to life.

"All students to Beacon, Flight 666 has arrived. Boarding for said flight will begin now."

"See you when you get a pass back to the city," Junior said. "The twins will be missing you."

"Heh, that they will," Vera said. "But hey, at least I shouldn't be in too much danger, save for the Grimm."

Junior laughed before hugging Vera one last time, leaving so she could board her flight. Vera grabbed her duffel bag, filled with some spare clothes, her research (something that she kept hidden from everyone, including Junior and the twins), and her cleaning kit for Fenrir, before trudging onto the airship.

As she walked on, she was surprised to see that the airship didn't have any seats to sit on. Rather, they had an open cabin, with large windows to look out of. She sighed as she sat down towards the back of the cabin. She watched as people boarded the airship, groaning as she saw some of Beacon's students were boarding, indicating to her that she most likely would have to deal with Yang and her team.

She was half tempted to pull Fenrir out and begin cleaning her, to prevent anyone she didn't know or trust (which would be almost everyone) from interacting with her, but then Rachelle walked over.

"Hey Vera, how have you been since the challenge?" Rachelle asked.

"Not too bad," Vera said. "So how many others made it into Beacon, or was that the only day the challenge was offered?" Rachelle snickered.

"Well, besides you, the Romanov twins, and I, we have only four others. But they seem to know what they are doing, considering they were all in the private defense sector."

Vera raised an eyebrow. She never trusted mercenaries, sorry, private contractors, as most would flee if the money wasn't flowing. She had seen small villages on the outskirts of Vale get overran by Grimm when the mercs that were paid to defend the town failed to protect it or left when the money dried up.

Upon seeing Vera's expression, Rachelle decided to clairify.

"Look, they aren't like mercs; they accept a contract for a set time, defend whatever it is that needs defending, regardless of whatever developments come along, and get paid at the end of their services," Rachelle explained. "I know the four of them, they are often noted as being the best squad to hire to take care of Grimm, short of having a squad of Hunters."

"Oh, what are their names?" Vera asked. Rachelle chuckled.

"Well, you have Oliver Cross, the 'leader' of the group. Then you have Richard and Ryan Browning, they have a reputation of being able to hold off against a Grimm horde back to back. Finally you have Devon Pike, the solo woman on the team that is usually responsible for scouting an area to figure out the best defensive position."

"I see," Vera stated. "Then I guess they will most likely do everything in their power to get on a team at Beacon. So that would leave us and the Romanovs to make a team."

"Yeah, but that is assuming that they don't reassign teams if there is an issue to bring up," Rachelle pointed out. "Though I think you are right. Let's see how the team assignment goes first, before we get to hopeful."

Vera nodded, and the two of them began to discuss a multitude of subjects, before they were rudely interrupted.

"Hey, what are you doing here?!" said Yang, approaching where Vera was sitting. Vera saw Ruby trying to pull Yang away, as Yang still had her bandages on. Meanwhile, the two unknown teammates were looking at Vera with glares at her.

"What the fuck do you think?" Vera snarled. "I kicked your ass, and as a result I am going to Beacon. If your only reason being here is to piss me off, well then you are getting close."

"You used too much force," said the unknown in a white 'combat' skirt. "There was absolutely no need to stab Yang in the shoulder."

"Shut the fuck up, Schnee Heiress," Rachelle started, putting her hand on her revolver. "What's a spoiled ass brat who didn't have to work for anything doing at Beacon? Did your army of body guards decided protecting your ass wasn't worth the pay?"

Vera saw fires burning in Schnee's eyes. Vera knew that while she probably had the best society had to offer, there was more than her wealth at play.

"Like you would understand," Schnee said. "I am here on my own initiative, not because, as you so said, my bodyguards left. I never had bodyguards in my life."

"Right, just the guards around that fortress you call a home," Rachelle said. "Listen, when you are negatively affected personally by your father's beloved company, then you can tell me I am being irrational, but until then, I am going to assume you're a spoiled ass brat."

"Whatever," yang interrupted again. "But that still doesn't explain how the hell anyone would allow you into Beacon after seeing how malicious you are." Vera was wanting to break out laughing, as the blonde bimbo made a legitimate point. But she refrained, deciding to take a different tactic.

"Really, then explain why anyone would allow you into beacon considering the debt you are in?" Vera asked. At once Ruby looked at Yang.

"You aren't in debt, are you?" Ruby fretted. Yang narrowed her eyes towards Vera.

"As far as I know, I don't have any debt," Yang stated. Vera chuckled.

"Then what about the damages to 'The Den' and its employees?" Vera responded. "The club sustained damages in the thousands, and that isn't counting the medical bills that several of the employees had to pay out of their hard earned money."

Yang's eyes flared in anger.

"Fuck you, I am not paying Junior!" yang said. "Not after…"

"Not after you grabbed his balls, forced him to give information he didn't have, then proceeded to punch him, injure several employees, and wrecked the clubs, but not before you finished it off by punching Junior out the second story window?" Vera asked rhetorically. "Yeah, like he was acting out of turn. You deserved that shoulder injury, at the very least."

At this point, Vera turned her attention to the teammate in black and purple. She had a bow tie that was clearly covering her ears, and she had black hair. Vera strained to remember why she seemed familiar. Meanwhile, Ruby was scolding Yang, which was midly amusing, before the one in black spoke up.

"Ruby, lay off of Yang, now isn't the time to be talking about this," she said. Ruby sighed.

"Fine Blake, you have a point," Ruby said. "But Yang, this isn't over!" Vera looked at Blake and realized why she seemed familiar. She was Adam's partner in the White Fang before she decided to leave abruptly. Vera remembered that night as she had stopped in the club and had to deal with a drunk and sobbing Adam. Despite being cool and nonchalant sober, Adam became the most emotional ball of fur that ever existed drunk, and he hadn't taken Blake's departure easily.

But before Vera could make anything of this new information, the airship started to slow, and the speakers came to life.

"Arriving at Beacon," it said. "To returning students, please head to your dorms. To new students, please head to the auditorium for orientation."

At this, Yang and her teammates left, leaving Rachelle to help Vera up.

"Well, this is going to be interesting," Rachelle said. "You already made an enemy out of Yang, and I out of that Schnee bitch." Vera nodded; Beacon was going to be interesting.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Finally, we are getting to Beacon! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, as it explains a bit about Vera's past and her behavior. Trust me; we will be seeing more of the Grimm Mind in the next chapter as it will be the initiation. Teams will be formed, Grimms shall fall, and more of the past revealed.**


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